When it comes to Pork Carnitas, you can never have too much of a good thing! Oh yes, pork carnitas…you had me at hello.
I have a confession to make. So, I have been wanting to chow down on some homemade pork carnitas yumminess(I know that verbiage sounds off but I’m goin with it!) for some time now. I used to live in Omaha and made weekly visits to Pancheros, a quick sit-down Mexican place like Chipotle, but it was even better in my mind. What did I order every visit?? The pork carnitas and you better believe it. Well since I started this food blog, making some pork carnitas has been in the back of my mind. And to be honest, I had no idea what carnitas even meant. Carnitas literally means “little meats.” And the process involves braising or simmering the meat in oil or lard. Sorry folks, no lard here. But I am going to provide you with a delicious pork carnitas recipe. And your body will thank you I left the lard out. Furthermore, pork shoulder has plenty of marbling in it that you will not need any additional lard.
I am cooking the pork in a slow cooker for 8-10 hours first to keep the process simple. The pork shoulder is seasoned with a rub consisting of oregano, cumin, salt, and pepper. Once the pork is seasoned, stick it in your crock-pot and top with the onion, jalapeno, and minced garlic. Then pour on the worcestershire sauce and juice from two oranges. That is it! Just leave it in there for 8 hours on low.
Following the 8-10 hours comes the time to carmelize the shredded pork. This is where the magic happens ladies and gents!! These pieces of meat are extraordinary! How do you do this you ask? The process involves pan frying your meat in olive oil on one side only making it a bit crispy, leaving the opposite tender and juicy. It’s the best of both worlds friends!
There are so many ways to eat this amazing pork carnitas…eat it plain with a side of beans or rice, stick it in a taco, make fajitas, or quesadillas. There are sooo maaaany possibilities! Might want to hang on to this fantabulous recipe. And if you have leftovers, send them my way!
Pork Carnitas
Ingredients
- 4 - 5 pound pork shoulder/pork butt
- 1 yellow onion chopped in small wedges
- 1/2 jalapeno seeded and chopped
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 oranges juiced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
For the rub:
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
Instructions
- 1. Rinse pork shoulder in cold water and pat dry with paper towels.
- 2. Combine rub ingredients in small bowl. Drizzle olive oil over pork and apply rub all over meat. Trim excess fat if you prefer. I did and there was still plenty of fat marbling to keep meat from drying out.
- 3. Place pork in crock-pot and top with onion wedges, garlic, jalapeno and pour Worcestershire sauce and juice from 2 oranges over meat.
- 4. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. I really recommend the low and slow method for this recipe.
- 5. Let pork cool for 10-15 minutes, and then shred with 2 forks. The meat will literally fall apart, making your job take about 2 minutes.
- 6. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to large cast iron or frying pan on high heat. Cook meat in batches just until bottom layer gets crispy. Remove meat and set aside. You will need to do this process in batches. I had close to 5 pounds of meat and was able to do it in 3 batches. The first batch took almost 5 minutes as the oil was still heating up, but the second and third batch only took about 3 minutes to pan fry.
- Optional- skim off excess fat from juices in crock-pot and discard. Add 1-2 ladles full of juices to meat.
- 7. Serve and enjoy!
- Recipe adapted from Nagi at RecipeTin Eats
Love,
3 Scoops of Sugar 🙂
